Man Utd VAR stood down after Haaland incident as Webb takes action

Matt Donohue and Blake Antrobus have been stood down from officiating duty in the wake of the Manchester derby controversy. Donohue and Antrobus were in the video assistant referee booth for Sunday's 1-0 win for Manchester City over rivals United after Erling Haaland's second-half winner.

Chief Refereeing Officer Howard Webb and the management team are said to have made the decision, which will see the pair out of action at least until after the international break. It comes after Haaland's effort was given despite the on-field decision initially being offside.

It was claimed at the time that the Norwegian was in an onside position with Patrick Dorgu's outstretched leg playing him on and Enzo Fernandez, who was in an offside position, hadn't interfered with play despite making an attempt to connect with Josko Gvardiol's cross.

Lisandro Martinez was caught between the offside Fernandez and Haaland, who was behind him. The Argentine was left incensed by the decision and was forced to hold back during an angry interview with Sky Sports on Sunday.

Michael Carrick was also left exasperated from the incident and admitted he was left 'very worried' by the perception from the officials. Pro Ref, formerly the PGMOL, later apologised for an 'error of judgement'.

A Pro Ref spokesperson said: "Following the incident in the 60th minute of Sunday's Premier League fixture between Manchester United and Manchester City at Old Trafford, we can provide clarification regarding Erling Haaland's awarded goal.

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"The on-field decision was offside against Erling Haaland - that was checked by VAR and he was found to be in an onside position.

"In the same attack, it was established that Enzo Fernandez did not play the ball and therefore that makes any offside offence subjective, however, on this occasion, the VAR did not recognise the likely impact of his position and should have recommended an on-field review.

"Contact has been made with Manchester United this evening to acknowledge what we deem is an error of judgement. A review of the incident will take place."

Donohue was the lead video assistant referee for the Manchester derby and has not been appointed a top-flight fixture this weekend, a first this term after being involved in three Premier League matches so far. He will not be on duty for the Carabao Cup third round either which sees European clubs in cup action.

The organisation were forced to U-turn on the suggestion that the former Chelsea man hadn't interfered with play following an Premier League Match Centre tweet on X.